Our weekend with Ava

Ava flew into town for a visit the weekend before Thanksgiving. She came over on Friday for 4 hours and then Saturday she came back in the morning and we had her for her 1st overnight visit until Sunday. It is crazy to look back and think about how long we have waited for her to be able to spend the night at our house! Cirdan had a crib set up for her when she was a baby, expecting to see her all the time...but that day never came. Its been a long 4 years but we are so thankful for her to now be in our lives. On Friday the girls played most of the time. They liked playing dress up and dancing around the living room. Kaiya and Ava get along really well and you can tell that Ava really loves having an older and younger sister. She is always wanting Ella to sit on her lap or help Ella find her binkie or blanket or toy.

I asked Ava what she wanted to do on Saturday and she said that she wanted to go to the mall. I think she was remembering the last time she was here and her and the girls got matching dresses. We decided that it might be a good idea to get the girls pictures with Santa...this way Ava could be in the picture. On Saturday Kaiya wore a knit dress and Ava wanted one like it so I called Kaiya's dad (cause he was the one who bought it) and we headed to Target hoping they had some left. We finally found the perfect outfit that was comfortable to Ava (picky dresser) and got one for Ella to match. We also got the girls matching pajamas for their 1st sleepover. Then we went to the Supermall for what would be one of my favorite Santa pictures. 

We shopped around a bit and went on the carousel at the mall.

Ella and Kaiya enjoyed sitting in the back of the car. They colored and wrote letters to Santa.

When we got home the girls played Wii, we made some homemade chocolate chip cookies and watched the movie UP. We were thinking (hoping) that it would make the girls sleepy but they were still awake and ready to play. We tucked Ava and Kaiya in Kaiya's bed and Ava wanted Kaiya to read her some books. I think Kaiya read her at least 20 books. It was getting pretty late so we turned off their light and soon enough they were fast asleep.

The next morning we got Cirdan out of bed to come and make us some delicious pancakes. Kaiya and Ava wanted to play Wii. The girls got ready for the day and I took them to get their nails painted at the salon and we bought a hot chocolate at Starbucks. Before the guy gave me my drink Ava had already drank all hers! She must like hot chocolate! We came home and Stacey came over to take some pictures of all of us. Kaiya had taped a couple papers on her door...her and Ava started Ava's Fashion Designer Store. Cirdan and I would both take turns and go buy something at their store. One took care of the cash register and the other walked us around the store showing us all the clothes and accessories that were for sale.

Cirdan and Kaiya took Ava to her mom. It was good because by the end of the weekend the girls were really tired. Kaiya isn't used to a kid tattling on her every move so her feelings were starting to get hurt. Ava was supposed to be back right after Christmas but tickets weren't bought far enough in advance and the price got way expensive. Cirdan agreed to have her instead come visit us again in February. We will miss her but know she will be back in a few months!

Nate's Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Nathan's birthday with pizza and green bean casserole. We then ate some super delicious pie (lemon meringue and apple). Kaiya was so excited to show everyone she can play Happy Birthday on the piano so after dinner we gathered downstairs to sing and hear Nate and Kaiya's duet. We told funny stories about Nathan when he was younger and then played a really fun game.

Emma's card to her daddy...

The beach and going home - Day 5 & 6

Sunday was going to be the relaxing day. We were staying on the beach but had been so busy that we had hardly seen it. When we went to eat at Mr. Chow on Thursday night we didn't take any pictures so we first wanted to go back down to Beverly Hills and walk down Rodeo Drive and take some pictures.

We grabbed a bite to eat at a fish restaurant right up the street from our hotel and then headed over to Hermosa Beach. The beach was nice and not crowded. Cirdan and I sat on the beach and just took pictures and relaxed. There is something very nice about listening to the waves crash. We walked a bit on the beach and of course took our share of pictures.

Then we went right next door to Redondo Beach (where we stayed) and walked the Boardwalk. We stopped for ice cream. Cirdan was wishing we had come to the pier more.....there was tons of fresh fish. He loves fish and fish tacos!

We cleaned up at the hotel and headed out for a movie. We ended up at an indoor/outdoor mall...we got our tickets and had about an hour to kill. We went to Starbucks and got some caramel apple drink that was a little too sweet but still good. It was nice to do the little things and not worry about the kids! (Thanks Mom)

The next morning we woke up and headed to the airport. Since we took an earlier flight to make it to the Ellen Show we thought my mom would appreciate us getting back on Monday as soon as we could. We made it standby on a morning flight. It was so good to see the girls. Ella's hair seemed to grow in the 6 days that we were gone. We are so thankful for my mom. She was so wonderful to help us with the girls while we were away.

Day of Days - Day 4

We headed out to the Day of Days event but first stopped at Noah's bagels. The bagel I ate was so delicious!!!! It was a pumpkin shmear with a pumpkin bagel. 

The Days event was held at the City Walk outside of Universal Studios. It started at 10:00 and we ended up getting there around 11:00. I didn't know how many people would be there...I didn't think that many people that are fans of soap operas did that kind of stuff. I was wrong. We checked in and got our giveaways they were handing out (bag, raffle ticket, hand sanitizer, autograph book with all the actors pictures and a magnet) and headed over to the first line that we saw. It was to meet Lucas, Nicole and I cant remember the other person. At this point I was seriously wondering why in the world I would go to one of these things. Cirdan urged me to stay so we got into line and waited and waited and waited. About 4 hours later we were finally at the beginning at the line. During the 4 hours we met and got to know the people standing around us pretty well. The people there were pretty...unusual but they kept us laughing. By the time we got up to the line we were able to meet Sami, Rafe, Will and Mia. I just really wanted to meet Alison Sweeney who is also the host of the Biggest Loser. They were all really nice (especially Sami and Rafe).

We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, right next to the event. I had just returned from the restroom when all the sudden all of the actors came walking through the restaurant to take a break before their next scheduled event. After standing there for the 4+ hours I realized that all I needed to do was hang out in the restaurant all day! They all walked past us...Lucas stopped to chat.

We stayed for the Q & A session and then walked around for a bit. The original plan was to go over to Universal Studios to go on a couple of rides but by the time we were done the park was closed. We left and ate dinner at Chili's. After that we drove around and looked at some of the houses right there on Hermosa Beach. Some of those houses are amazing.

I was so thankful to Cirdan and what a wonderful husband he is. Not many husbands would put up with their crazy wife's ideas for soap opera events...or even stand in line with them for hours! He's the best!!